Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- China's CSI 300 Index rose to a record, rounding out its best quarterly performance to date, after a newspaper report showed the central bank has raised its economic growth forecast for this year. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and China Vanke Co. led the advance.

``Expectations are building that rapid economic growth will bolster corporate earnings,'' said Zhang Shuntai, who helps manage about the equivalent of $127 million at Zhonghai Fund Management Co. in Shanghai. ``That's helping steer investors into equities.''

China Oilfield Services Ltd., the drilling unit of the nation's third-largest oil producer, almost tripled in its debut on the Shanghai stock market.

The CSI 300 climbed 153.16, or 2.8 percent, to close at 5,580.81, exceeding its previous best finish of 5,513.90 set Sept. 24. It was the biggest fluctuation among equity markets included in global benchmarks. More than 90 percent of the benchmark's members gained.

ICBC, the nation's biggest listed lender, added 0.03 yuan, or 0.5 percent, to 6.61. China Minsheng Banking Corp., its only privately controlled lender, rose 0.73 yuan, or 4.8 percent, to 15.81. China Vanke, the No. 1 publicly traded real estate developer, climbed 0.95 yuan, or 3.3 percent, to 30.20.

Economic Growth

China's economy is expected to expand 11.6 percent this year, the state-run China Securities Journal reported, citing research by the People's Bank of China, exceeding the bank's June estimate for 10.8 percent. The economy grew 11.9 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than 12 years.

The CSI 300, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges, surged 48 percent since the end of June, completing the best quarter since it was introduced in April 2005. The benchmark has quadrupled in the past year.

China United Telecommunications Corp., which controls the nation's second-largest cell-phone operator, gained 0.38 yuan, or 4.2 percent, to 9.34. Daqin Railway Co., the operator of the nation's biggest coal transport network, advanced 0.55 yuan, or 2.2 percent, to 25.47.

Combined profits at Chinese industrial companies surged 37 percent to 1.6 trillion yuan ($213 billion) in the first eight months from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., China's biggest copper producer, gained 0.61 yuan, or 2 percent, to 31.60. Jiangxi Copper Co., the second-biggest, climbed 4.65 yuan, or 8.6 percent, to 58.99. Yunnan Copper Industry Co, the third- largest, rose 1.48 yuan, or 1.6 percent, to 92.78.

Copper Rises

Copper gained 3.4 percent to $3.648 a pound in New York yesterday. Earlier, the price reached $3.6775, the highest since July 24. Futures have climbed 7.4 percent in September, heading for the biggest gain since April.

China Oilfield, the drilling unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp., jumped 196 percent from its offer price to 39.90 yuan on the first day of trading in Shanghai. The company raised 6.74 billion yuan selling domestic shares for the first time after drawing orders from investors for more than 300 times the shares on offer.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's stock exchanges, climbed 2.6 percent to 5,552.30. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.7 percent to 1,532.67.

The following stocks rose or fell. The stock symbols are in brackets after companies' names:

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028 CH), Asia's biggest oil refiner, also known as Sinopec, added 0.56 yuan, or 3.1 percent, to 18.94. Sinopec plans the nation's biggest corporate bond sale as part of proposals to raise as much as 50 billion yuan to finance the gas field and chemicals projects.

China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. (000758 CH), a unit of China Nonferrous Metal Industry (Group) Co., jumped 4.17 yuan, or 8.9 percent, to 50.99. The company said it will supply equipment worth $135 million to double the capacity of a plant for Kazakhstan Aluminum Smelter Joint-Stock Co.

Guangdong Midea Electric Appliances Co. (000527 CH), China's second-biggest publicly traded appliance maker, advanced 0.90 yuan, or 2.5 percent, to 36.90. Net income for the first nine months probably rose between 120 percent and 170 percent from a year ago on rising sales and an investment gain from the purchase of equities in a fund management firm, the company said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zhang Shidong in Shanghai szhang5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 28, 2007 06:22 EDT